


Sandcastle Hearts

by honeypressed



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beach, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Blood and Injury, Courting Rituals, Crushes, Falling In Love, First Meetings, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Mention of Knives, Mentions of Death, Romance, kind of????, like i say falling in love but theyve known each other for 2 weeks tops, mention of violence, um, what else do i tag help
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:56:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25552423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeypressed/pseuds/honeypressed
Summary: There are only three rules in the village that Jisung calls home.One, children are not allowed to go on the rocks. Two, if you enter a place that does not belong to your kind, leave a gift. Three, help must always be given when it is needed.Lately, there seems to be another rule that is slowly spreading around the village. There has not been a new rule for hundreds of years.Four, do not make a fool's deal with the Dealer.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 24
Kudos: 167
Collections: MINSUNG BINGO: Round One





	Sandcastle Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> [slams down ur front door] FOURTH FILL. for the tropes "AU - Mermaid" and "hurt/comfort"!! 
> 
> i am feeling a little out of it right now!!! i wrote this in two days and am posting it past midnight, so i will beta read this in the morning i do apologise for that
> 
> and i just wanted to mention that even though i have been very active lately by filling in tropes for minsungbingo i think i will be slowing down! my mental health right now is not at its best so i will be looking to take care of myself first, i hope thats understandable! i will do my best to fill the rest of the tropes, but even if i dont i will eventually write the rest of the wips i prepared for this event <3 
> 
> please be reminded that there is mentions of an attack, blood, violence and death in this fic. as always, i hope it is enjoyable <3

_magic can harvest for me the stars and the moon,_

_but when it is you,_

_no magic is comparable._

* * *

The Dealer appears two weeks into the spring, near the rocks that the children are told away to stay from. They come when the tide is low and the rocks are exposed, and leave before the high tide returns and the rocks are submerged. No one asks where they come from; here, between the sea and the land, is a place that serves as a refuge for everyone. 

The first time Jisung meets the Dealer, he is offered a vial of sea water, glittering with the depths of the galaxy. 

"Sea water collected from the deepest trenches in these seas," The Dealer says, and their voice sounds like the highest shrieks of the wind and the lowest parts of the ocean floor. "Cures airheadedness and provides a sense of grounding to those who need it."

"I don't need it," Jisung says politely, then moves on, stepping in between the rocks carefully. 

Talk begins to spread about the Dealer on land. The Dealer who can cure anything - the only thing they want is  _ time _ . 

Moon-dried petals of the sea rose; two weeks. 

A decanter of sunlight scooped from the top of the waves; three days. 

Strings of seaweed, as dark as ebony during noon and bright like the moon during midnight; a month. 

For those that have enough life to spare, they give it gladly. For those that do not, the Dealer offers discounts. A Deal. The villagers put their palms together and pray to the old gods that the Deal will go smoothly.

Fortunately, Jisung does not  _ need _ anything, nor does the Dealer need anything from him. He has already heard how the sea rose petals has cured the girl down the road from her skinburns; the sunlight has revived the plants of the florist; the seaweed is being used in the medicines for the sick and elderly to wondrous effects. 

Sure, they do not  _ ask  _ \- but they  _ wonder _ . 

Jisung is no exception. Perhaps it is also because he sometimes takes care of the village children that he is a lot more curious about the Dealer. The children are not allowed to go on the rocks, and so have never seen nor met the Dealer - they clamour about them every time, want details about the Dealer is offering today and who has bought from the Dealer. 

Their curiosity only heightens Jisung's own, but he knows better than to make a fool's deal with someone who calls themselves the Dealer. 

There are only three rules in the village that Jisung calls home. 

One, children are not allowed to go on the rocks. 

Two, if you enter a place that does not belong to your kind, leave a gift. 

Three, help must always be given when it is needed. 

Lately, there seems to be another rule that is slowly spreading around the village. There has not been a new rule for hundreds of years. 

Four, do not make a fool's deal with the Dealer. 

The fourth rule comes after the first death. 

* * *

Jisung watches from his hut that's at the southern end of the beach, near the mangrove forest. He has lived in this hut for his whole life, and now he lives alone after his parents have been scattered at sea - and now the villager who has just passed is being scattered at sea as well. 

"For every human death…" Jisung murmurs to himself, then turns away from the window. He hopes there will not be a correlating death or injury in the next few days. 

Yet, their local tale stands true. 

It is two nights later, under the full moon that Jisung is awoken by a loud splash and what sounds like someone shouting for help. Without even thinking about it, he gets up and grabs a jacket, slipping on his shoes and takes a lantern with him. Fire will last through the night; a flashlight less so. 

"Is anyone there?" The voice comes, sounding desperate. "Hello, is anyone there?"

"I'm here," Jisung calls after he's lit his lantern. His voice echoes out into the space and then - he sees who has been calling for help. 

Half a human and half a tail, scales dappling under the moonlight, and what looks like blood, so dark red that it looks black. A merperson. 

"Lantern," The merperson says as Jisung approaches the line between the waves and the sand. "Can you help me?" 

"I am Jisung," Jisung says, leaves the lantern a distance up on the beach so it'll stay dry and makes his way closer to the merperson. "What happened to you?"

"I am Minho, a merman… I don't know what happened but I was caught up in some seaweed and - there was a knife. I think that person wanted seaweed but got me as well," Minho says, wincing as he sits up, moving a hand over the middle of his tail where the blood has congealed. "I swam up to the coast for help… I did not think I would actually get help."

"Help is always given when it is needed," Jisung says, comes closer to examine the wound. "You will need to clean the wound, salve it and bind it. Do you mind waiting here while I get some supplies from my hut?"

"I owe you with it," Minho says, tail flipping up slightly in agreement. His tail makes a tiny  _ splash _ as he plays with the incoming waves to distract himself from the pain, and Jisung hurries back to the hut, leaving the lantern with Minho to give some comfort. 

He flicks his bedside lamp on and rummages around in his hut for what he needs. It's a little hard to work on the dark, but he'd rather fumble like this than attract unwanted attention by being the only light for hundreds of miles of darkness. He loads bandages of animal tendons, salve of crushed plant essence, a decanter of clean water and a small vial of alcohol into a basket then hurries out again, remembering how dark the merman's blood was. 

Minho is waiting for him at the same spot, and he's cupping a handful of sea water, whispering to it. 

"Minho?" Jisung asks hesitantly. He isn't quite knowledgeable about what magics merfolk have, but he does know that it's enough to keep their communities safe. 

"As payment for you helping me," Minho says, holding out a handful of what looks like colourful glass. "Some sea glass that you can trade with that awful Dealer of yours without striking a Deal with him."

There are so many things Jisung wants to ask him. But first - 

"Let me treat your wound," Jisung says, accepting the sea glass and putting it in the basket first. "This will probably hurt, okay?" 

"I will be fine," Minho says, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. 

Jisung nods, unscrews the cap of the decanter and pours the water over the wound, then swabs a little alcohol over it to disinfect the wound. He winces as the congealed blood comes away - it looks like a pretty nasty cut, and the scales around the wound are stained red. He isn't sure if the knife was an  _ accident _ . Minho takes in a breath, and Jisung hurries his treatment up. He applies the salve as gently as he can, then binds the wound with bandages, tying off the knot nearly. 

"The bandage should last even when you're in the water," Jisung says when he's finished. "You probably need to stay on dry land more often until it heals though."

"That's fine," Minho says, "and thank you for the help you gave me today. I appreciate it a lot."

"Just doing what I need to do," Jisung returns. The night is ending, and there is a little light rising up from the east - he still has questions he wants to ask Minho. 

"Before you go," Jisung says, as Minho examines his bandage, "what did you mean by the Dealer?" 

"Well," Minho starts, looks around them a bit nervously, "I am not sure, but I think it was the Dealer who hurt me. I know that they wanted the seaweed that grows on the black pearl, but no one is supposed to take too much, and already half is gone. I went tonight to check on the seaweed, and someone hurt me… it could be the Dealer."

"The Dealer is asking for time in return for harvesting these goods," Jisung says carefully, brings the lantern closer to them. It would not do good for anyone to overhear them. "Already there has been a death in the village because a fool's deal was struck. No one knows where the Dealer came from, nor where he does from here."

"The Dealer is from the other side," Minho says, so quiet that Jisung has to lean in close to hear his words. "That is why they can deal in time - no one should deal with them unless you  _ must _ ." 

Jisung looks up at Minho then, and the lantern is finally close enough that Jisung can make out the merman's features. Skin that looks halfway to translucent, scales running up the sides of his torso and his neck marked with gills. He looks like something straight out from the fairy tales that his parents read to him as a child. 

"I have not, and I will tell the village that they should not as well," Jisung says softly, shaking himself out of looking at the merman. "Will you be alright for the rest of the night? I can spend the time with you."

"I will be alright, the sun is already rising," Minho says, gesturing towards the sky. True to his words, the sky has lightened from its previous dark velvet into the deep colour of the sea trenches, and Jisung estimates the sunrise will be in about an hour or two. "But when I was hurt - I lost something… I am not sure if you have seen it."

"What is it?"

"A pearl on a string. I wear it as a necklace but it must have snapped off when I was trying to flee. If you have time - could you look out for my necklace? Of course you don't need to, but the necklace is -"

"Don't worry," Jisung says, reaches out to pat Minho's shoulder. His skin is cool to the touch. "I will look out for you."

"Thank you so much," Minho says, and it's obvious he is relieved. "The necklace - well, the pearl - it glows green if you put it up against the sun, and the string is just simple plant stem. I owe you again, if you find it, Jisung."

"If I do find it," Jisung says, endeavours to not blush at how Minho says his name, "where should I find you? I don't think I have often met merfolk even though I live here."

"We merfolk have ways of not being seen," Minho says, laughs a little; he sounds like the wash of a gentle sea wave around Jisung's ankles. "I have seen your hut and you several times already, but have not met you till this day. If you want to find me, go into the mangrove forest and look for the rock pool. It is not difficult to find. Leave something of yours there and I will wait for you at the same place the next morning."

"Seems like we have struck a deal," Jisung says, and he laughs too. 

"We are friends, this is not a deal, it is an agreement," Minho corrects, but he's laughing too, the gentlest little giggle. "Thank you again for helping me - the sea glass for the bandages, and if you find my necklace, something better."

"Nothing has been better than to see that I have helped you," Jisung says, sincere. "I hope your wound heals fast."

"Till we meet again, Jisung," Minho says, smiles and then he pushes himself up as the wave washes in, and lets the water pull him in again naturally. 

Jisung stands up with his lantern and basket and watches Minho swim away into the darkness of the ocean, aided by the buoy of the waves. He raises his lantern up high, and for a moment he sees the end of a tail, high above the waters like a goodbye, then it disappears back down into the sea. He smiles, then lowers his lantern, makes his way back home. 

The fire has lasted throughout the night, like he had known it would. Now, he extinguishes the fire and decides he can sleep in for a bit longer today. He has earned a bit more of his keep on the strip of sand that serves as a refuge. 

* * *

It takes two days for Jisung to meet the Dealer. By now, everyone knows that you do not seek the Dealer - the Dealer seeks  _ you _ . Therefore, it is a late Friday morning that Jisung meets the Dealer; appropriately, he is holding a bagful of garbage - someone has been littering the beach, and he’ll be finding the village head for a word. 

“You need something,” The Dealer says, in the same gale-high and trench-deep voice that Jisung now knows belongs to the other side. “Something that I have found.” 

“Found by force?” Jisung asks flatly, remembering what Minho said to him two days ago. He drops the bag of garbage at his feet and straightens up, looks at the Dealer; he hopes there is no fear or hesitance in the line of his shoulders, the gaze of his eyes. He has someone to look out for. 

“Finders keepers,” The Dealer says in their singsong tone, and then they produce a pearl necklace from their pocket. They hold it up, and against the sunlight Jisung can see that it glows a pretty green. The string has snapped in half where the Dealer is holding it, and Jisung can feel heat behind his neck where his anger always starts. 

“Wasn’t yours to find in the first place,” Jisung says as steadily as he can. It would not do good for him to get angry at someone from the other side. “Don’t you think you’re becoming a bit too comfortable here?” 

“This is a refuge for everyone, is it not?” The Dealer asks, holds the necklace to Jisung. “You need this.” It is not even a question, and Jisung wonders if the Dealer knows about the promise he made to Minho. 

“What do you want for it?” Jisung knows he’s making a Deal. 

“Two weeks,” The Dealer says. 

Jisung smiles, does the calculation in his head. “Two weeks,” He agrees, steps closer and takes the necklace from the Dealer, then rummaging in his pocket. “Two weeks worth of sea glass. Seven of the prettiest.” 

The Dealer looks visibly disconcerted at the pieces of sea glass sparkling in Jisung’s open palm, and Jisung tries not to feel victorious. 

“Our Deal,” Jisung says, holds the sea glass to the Dealer even more. “Two weeks worth of sea glass in return for this pearl necklace.” 

“... Fine,” The Dealer says, and takes the sea glasses, counts each piece and observes them. “You are correct. The Deal is complete.” 

“Glad to know,” Jisung says, keeps his eyes on the Dealer for a while longer before he leaves. “Hope I am not blacklisted!” He yells back to the Dealer, and wonders if he imagines the Dealer rolling their eyes. 

He picks up the bag of garbage and hurries home to his hut, checking his back every now and then to make sure nothing is following him. He sets the bag of garbage outside his door then walks in, opens the curtains of the largest window of his hut to let the sunshine stream in. Holding the necklace up against the sunlight, he smiles to himself as he watches the pearl glow. 

Maybe because it’s out of the hands of the Dealer, but the pearl seems to glow even brighter now, the light that it emanates luminous, and the green is so gorgeous that it reminds Jisung of the shallow waters near the coast, crystal clear and sparkling with how the sunshine collects on top of it. It really reminds him of Minho… 

And speaking of the merman, he should go and find the rock pool in the mangrove forest. Yet, it’s not like he can drop his duties today and go and find the rock pool - so he decides he’ll go in the late evening after dinner. The sun sets much later now that it’s the summer, so he thinks he’ll be safe even if he happens to stay out later than he thinks he will.

With that thought in mind, he stows the pearl necklace in a locked drawer under his bed and returns to his work. 

The day seems to stretch even longer with how much anticipation he has to find Minho and return the necklace to him, and by the time evening arrives he dashes home to gulp down some food and then grabs the pearl necklace, tucks it safely in the inside pocket of his jacket and sets off towards the mangrove forest that’s just next to his house.

It’s always a lot darker inside the mangrove forest, and plenty damp too. The trees are thick here on the land where it’s drier, and Jisung is sure he won’t find any sort of rock pool here - so he wades into the water slowly until he’s up to his calves and starts looking around. 

The sunshine filters in through the leaves and casts a muted dark golden glow on everything around him; it feels a little like when he’s swimming underwater, and maybe this is why the merman likes to come here. And just like Minho had told him, the rock pool is not difficult to find - if one was a  _ merperson _ .

Jisung goes around the less forested parts of the mangrove forest and its waters until he realises the rock pool is  _ underwater _ . He only realises it when he’s up to his thighs in water and he almost trips and goes head first into the water over some rocks. He’s about to glare at the rocks when he realises that the rocks lead to more rocks than go up into shallower waters, and he finds an irregular sort of circle that the rocks form where the water don't reach their tops, and Jisung thinks he’s found the rock pool.

He can’t help but smile to himself for a little. There is water in the rock pool where it has trickled in from the gaps of the rocks, and perhaps there is something a little magical about the pool. While the water outside the pool is a clear blue, the tops rippling with sunlight, the water inside the pool reflects like molten gold, heady with its colour and Jisung can’t help himself, dips a hand inside the water. 

The water is warm with the sunlight, and when he takes his hand back, he thinks for a moment that he sees the gold come along with his fingers, dripping like honey. The rock pool  _ must _ be magical, he is  _ sure _ . 

_ Leave something of yours, and I will find you _ . 

Minho’s words ring clear in his head now that he’s here, but in his haste to come here, he had forgotten to bring something that he  _ can  _ leave. A little flustered, he searches through his pockets, trying to find something that he can leave. 

Definitely not the necklace, no - that Dealer would probably take it again. 

Not the sea glass either, because it is useful currency. 

What, a piece of clothing? His  _ shoes _ ? He doesn’t think the merman would appreciate it if he left his dirty shoes on top of the rocks… but oh, he’s worn his bandana today. 

Carefully, Jisung reaches up and unties the bandana from around his forehead, ruffling his hair as the bandana comes away. He folds it neatly and then places it on the flattest rock so that it’s less likely to fall into the water, then looks around him again. 

There is just the sound of life from around the forest, and the golden of the sun is slowly becoming bronze - which indicates it’s probably time for him to head back as well. He presses down on the bandana to flatten it against the rock, then hopes Minho will come to the rock pool tonight. 

For now, he can only wait. 

The night passes way too slowly for Jisung’s liking. The sun sets late, and when night does arrive, Jisung has already fallen into an uneasy sleep. His dreams start off meaningless and nonsensical, but then they gradually take form, take shape, until he’s back at the rock pool again. 

He can’t speak. He can’t even  _ move _ . He can only watch, and there is Minho swimming towards the rock pool, heaving himself up onto the rocks and then dipping his still-bandaged tail into the waters that are crystal clear. He watches Minho pick up the bandana and then he smiles, looking up straight into the forest - 

And the rest of his dream dissolves away into nothing again. 

(but even when he wakes up, he remembers that part of his dream. it’s strange, because he never usually remembers his dreams anyway.) 

* * *

Jisung wakes early. There is something brewing deep in his guts but he can’t tell if it’s because he ate not-quite-properly-heated leftovers for dinner last night or if it’s because he’s got the most crystal clear remnants of a dream he had last night that involves Minho and the rock pool. He spends his time in the bathroom vaguely planning his day out and decides that he has time to visit the rock pool before he needs to go and help in the shop for the day. 

With his plans settled, Jisung quickly washes up and has his breakfast, then dresses up and heads out the door. He looks around him again - the tides are still high so the Dealer shouldn’t be around at all - and pats his pocket to make sure the pearl necklace is still with him. 

It is, and he sets off towards the mangrove forest again.

This time, his steps are a lot more sure, and he wades out into the water after leaving his sandals up on higher ground, where the sand remains dry and out of reach of the waves. The morning sea has not yet been warmed by the sun, and so goosebumps rise on his skin as he traces back the steps he took yesterday. 

He still loses his way a little, but he manages to find the rock pool - now he knows that the pool is hidden away from sight if one was to try and find it from the land, because it’s in a little clearing surrounded by a thicket of trees that can only be accessed from the water. 

_ Which means it’s probably a good resting place for merfolk _ , Jisung muses as he draws closer and closer to the rock pool. His bandana is still lying on the flattest rock - but it seems like someone has touched it. 

Jisung wades closer, and his suspicions are confirmed. 

The bandana that he had neatly folded yesterday and carefully placed on the rock is now unfolded and sprawled on the rock, and it looks creased too, like someone had dunked it in water and then let it dry in the sun. He picks up the bandana and looks at it a bit more closely, runs it through his hands. 

It’s his bandana, it definitely is. The little rip in the top corner, and the frayed ends of the bandana - it’s most certainly his… yet there’s a little something different too. When he holds it up to the sun, it sparkles a little and reminds him of the stars that dot the night sky; it’s something that his bandana most certainly did  _ not _ do when he had it just yesterday. 

Had Minho already come to the rock pool…? 

Jisung looks back at the flattest of the rocks to see if he’s missed anything - and he has. In his haste to examine his bandana, he had overlooked something that he supposes must have been lying beside his bandana. 

A piece of sun-dried red algae. 

He picks it up - and  _ knows _ it must be from Minho. The red algae only grows on the northern edge of the coast, past the rocks and towards much deeper waters - where the whole village knows communities of merfolk live. 

Red algae is pretty popular in the village for cooking and medicinal uses - he would know, he works in a medicine shop - and the only way red algae can be sought is by trading with the merfolk. He isn’t sure if the village trades with the community that Minho belongs to, but he does know that Minho has come here, and has left the red algae as a sign that he’s waiting. 

Minho also did say that he would wait for him the next morning - but it’s gotten a bit late, and he’s sure Minho has things to do as well. He takes the red algae and puts it in the same pocket as where the pearl necklace. 

Now, he wades up towards land and grabs a handful of sand, spreading a little over the flat rocks and drawing a circle in it. He draws one line straight down the center and then takes off the braided bracelets he had worn this morning. Placing the bracelets on the end of the line, he hopes that this will be enough to tell Minho that he’ll be back at six tonight since he didn’t have the foresight to bring paper or pen to leave a note.

He leaves after checking that his bracelet won’t drop or fly away with the wind, and has to hurry back home to dry off and change into jeans from his shorts since he was in the water. Sure, visiting the rock pool and spending time there means that now he has to run through the village to get to the shop on time to help with opening - but it was worth it. 

The rest of the day passes faster than Jisung thought it would. It might be because they run out of dried sea petals and fresh seaweed after lunch and Jisung has to make a dash to the storehouse and try to sort through the mess there to find new stock. Maybe he should spend the afternoon sorting through the storehouse… 

No - he has places to be! He finally finds the huge jar of fresh seaweed and takes a rack of dried sea petals and empties it into the container he brought along with him. Deciding that it’ll be enough to last for another week, he runs back to the store, just in time for someone who wants half a bag of fresh seaweed. 

It isn’t until after he has promised the owner of the medicine shop to stay for a bit longer to help her sort through the storehouse that he remembers he was going to visit Minho at six. He winces, and hopes that Minho will forgive him when he turns up a few hours late - he feels bad about the state of the storehouse, and he doesn’t feel like turning back on his words. 

So it’s at eight when he finally leaves work, and he leaves with his arms sore and eyes watery from all the dust. His nose also feels itchy, but he has more important things to worry about, like hoping that Minho is still there at the rock pool.

He hurries home under the sun that is finally setting, changes quickly into shorts and pats his jacket to make sure he still has the pearl necklace and red algae before he leaves home again. He stands outside his door for a while, pulling at the strap of his sandal, and he eyes the rocks suspiciously even though it’s a distance away from his hut. He hadn’t been able to see the Dealer the whole day today since he was at work, but he hasn’t heard anyone make a deal at all today… 

Putting that out of his mind for the while, he makes his way towards the mangrove forest for the third time. 

Now, as the evening inches towards night, the waters are much warmer and Jisung smiles when he wades into it again. The waves are small and wash over his calves as he takes the path that is becoming increasingly familiar to him; the golden sunlight streams in through the canopy like it did when he first came to find the pool, and it once again casts a bronze glow onto everything beneath it.

His path to the rock pool makes little ripples in the water and little splashes that Jisung is sure will announce his arrival if Minho is there - but he doesn’t even need to wait to see. MInho is already there. 

Jisung’s breath hitches in his chest for a moment. 

The last (and first) time that he met Minho was in the dark after midnight, when the merman was injured and Jisung was more concerned if Minho would be okay or not… and now, he can see clearly that Minho’s tail has recovered from the knife to him, and Jisung feels like he’s meeting Minho all over again. 

God, Minho is… gorgeous. There are just no other words that he can use. 

Minho is sitting on the flattest rock so his side profile is presented to Jisung, and his head is bowed with how he’s toying with something in his hands. His hair, as dark as the seaweed that grows on the black pearls, is long enough to mat at his neck and just barely hinting at his gills there, leading to the lovely line of his neck and shoulders.

From there, Jisung’s eyes lead down the expanse of Minho’s torso, soft, and then further down too, to the swoop of his tail - and then he loses the rest of his breath. He’s  _ breathless _ . 

Minho’s tail - it looks like the waters near to the coast when the waters are at its clearest. A gradient of scales rippling down from a light emerald green to the dark greens that Jisung sees in the seaweed when he goes swimming along the northern coast. The green shimmers and reflects the darkening gold of the sun as it slowly sets, and it’s only when Minho looks up that Jisung remembers how to breath again.

“Jisung,” Minho says, and his voice sounds like how the ripest persimmons taste when the autumn ends. “You’re a bit late, aren’t you?” And he’s holding up the bracelets that Jisung had left behind earlier this morning.

“I had to help Myungeun-noona at her store until eight,” Jisung replies softly, wades closer to Minho and feeling so clumsy compared to how elegant Minho looks, tail dipped in the water of the rock pool, dyed bronze by the sunlight. “I’m sorry I made you wait.” 

“No, it’s fine,” Minho says, turns a little to face Jisung properly, and the splash of his tail causes some of the bronzed water in the rock pool to splash out into the water outside. The bronze dyes the water a little gold, then melts into the blue again. “I was a little late too, and it was nice to sit here for a while.” 

Jisung nods, feeling like he’s just swallowed a mouthful of sand. “Um - I’m glad your tail has healed,” He says, gesturing vaguely at Minho’s tail. He’s just a few feet away from Minho, and he can’t bear to look at Minho; it feels like he’s looking at the moon itself. 

“I have you to thank for that,” Minho says, laughing a little. “Why don’t you sit here with me? The water is so warm here, it feels good.” 

“Sure,” Jisung says, and his tongue finally unsticks itself from the roof of his tongue. 

He walks closer, and for some reason the water doesn’t feel like it pulls at his legs like it usually does. Instead, it feels like the water pushes him towards Minho, and he reaches Minho so easily that suddenly he’s looking down at Minho and watching the prettiest smile bloom on his mouth. 

“Sit with me,” Minho says, and Jisung sits down on the rock next to Minho, swinging his legs carefully over the rocks and dipping them in the water. Minho is right - it’s so warm; it feels like liquid sunshine soaking into his skin.

“I found your pearl necklace,” Jisung says after a small moment of silence between them. “The Dealer had it… I think they ‘found’ your necklace.” 

“As expected of the Dealer,” Minho says, sighing. “Did you pay for it?” 

“Seven pieces of sea glass,” Jisung replies as he carefully takes out the necklace, and the dried red algae comes along with it in a tangle. “The prettiest of the ones that you gave me that night.”

“My necklace is not worth the prettiest of the sea glass,” Minho murmurs, eyes focused on how Jisung untangles the red algae from the string. “You kept the red algae…”

“It was from you, how could I not?” Jisung asks simply, and then he’s got the necklace free and ready to be worn again. 

“... Is this normal of human behaviour?” Minho asks, and his voice is so small that Jisung almost misses it. It sounds like the tiniest splash of waves against his ankles when the sea is calm.

“What is?” His hands hover in the air between them, like he wants to put the necklace on Minho. He wants to. 

“Your… behaviour. It is - so sweet,” Minho says hesitantly, and he isn’t looking at Jisung at all. There is just the slightest flush of red across his cheeks and nose, and - oh. Jisung thinks he knows what Minho is referring to.

“Well - for some people it might be, but for me… I would like to think it is not,” Jisung starts off, smiles at Minho and leans in a little, shaking the necklace a little. “I know I have not met you for long, but I would like to get to know you more… and so perhaps this is why you think I am sweet.”

Minho leans in too, lets Jisung place the necklace around his neck. Jisung makes a double knot with the frayed ends of the necklace, and his hands linger a little longer on Minho’s neck than he strictly needs to. He draws back when he realises what he’s done, a little embarrassed at his straightforwardness, but Minho is smiling at him in a way that makes his cheeks a little rounder, and it looks like he’s bashful.

“Thank you,” Minho murmurs, and he’s close enough that Jisung can see the colour of his eyes. It’s nothing like he’s seen in humans before. “For treating me, for finding my necklace, and for wearing it for me.”

“You are welcome,” Jisung says, and his voice has dropped to barely above a whisper too. He wants to say more, but his words are lost when the corner of Minho’s eyes crease, hiding a little of the red speckles that Jisung can’t stop looking at.

As they sit there, night seems to have dawned faster than anywhere else, here in the middle of the mangrove forest. The beams of bronze sunlight becomes shadows of velvet and tiny pinpricks of light from the moon and stars filter through the trees instead. The liquid gold that once flowed in the rock pool has changed without Jisung’s attention, turning into distilled moonlight and glows pearly against Minho’s tail.

More noises come to life as the night falls. The sounds of waves rushing in becomes even more soothing, and even though there is hardly any light anymore, Minho still glows, still looks radiant as they sit like this, close enough to be lost in each other. 

And more than that, he can hear the soft intakes of air that Minho takes, the little splashes his tail makes as he moves it in the pool of moonlight, the way his nails scrape slightly against the top of the rock. 

“Your pearl glows,” Jisung says quietly, eyes drawn to the necklace where it’s emitting a gentle green light, similar to the colour of Minho’s tail. 

“It’s magic,” Minho says, and Jisung is irresistibly drawn to the sweep of his eyelashes against the top of his cheeks. 

“You are magic,” Jisung murmurs, and delights in how the red of Minho’s cheek darkens. 

“I may be magic, but you are human and you should go to sleep,” Minho says. Even as he says it, he makes no move to draw away, to leave. 

Jisung smiles. “Can I hold your hand?”

“What?” Minho startles, but he gives his hand anyway. 

“I don’t know how you would usually say these things, but I am saying it my way - I want to meet you again, Minho.” Their fingers still fit together, human-warm against merfolk-cool, and Jisung thinks maybe he likes it more than he thought he could.

“Oh!” Minho says, and he’s close enough for Jisung to make out how his shoulders curl in a little before relaxing again. “I - I think… that would be nice.” His voice is small but his smile is not, and Jisung feels Minho squeeze his hand. 

Jisung can’t quite remember how the rest of the night goes, but he tries.

He remembers water around his ankles and sand beneath his feet with the reflection of moonlight on rippling green scales further out in deeper water. He remembers wading out into that deeper water again and feeling the transition of skin to scales against the palms of his hands. He remembers a persimmon-sweet voice in his ear wishing him to have only sweet dreams, and that he will have a surprise in three days' time. 

Jisung spends the next three nights with a tied bunch of sun-dried red algae on his bedside table, and wonders what the surprise is. 

On the fourth morning that he wakes up, the sand outside his door has been drawn in. 

_ I want to meet you again _ . 

This time, the whole blossom of a sea lily, dried under the moonlight. 

_ I promised you something better if you found my necklace _ , Minho had reminded him under the moon and stars that night. There is red on his cheeks and his tail is a little frantic in the water.  _ I think you will like it. _

_ If it is you _ , Jisung says, means each word with all his heart,  _ I will.  _

**Author's Note:**

> i have left a lot of loose ends in this fic, including the fate of the Dealer, how minsung's relationship progresses and just the general ongoings in the village, so i do wonder if anyone wants a sequel? to this fic? its my first time writing a mermaid au in general and i got a bit carried away so please do tell me!!
> 
> thank you for reading, as always, and i hope everyone is safe and sound <3
> 
> Here is my [Tumblr](https://yeongwonlino.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/yeongwonlino/)!


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